


i'm doing it for all of us, who never got the chance

by pure_of_heart



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: M/M, Thomas The Second, also a cat, everyone else kinda - Freeform, thast the cats name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:08:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21643435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pure_of_heart/pseuds/pure_of_heart
Summary: Thomas wants to propose to Richard, but he keeps getting interrupted.
Relationships: Thomas Barrow/Richard Ellis
Comments: 7
Kudos: 98





	i'm doing it for all of us, who never got the chance

**Author's Note:**

> I blame the Thomas Barrow Defense Squad
> 
> also!!! this is Very unlikely like this would never happen but let a girl dream alright?
> 
> title from Lana Del Rey's Get Free

Thomas blinked his eyes rapidly trying to clear up his mind. He was overcome with nervousness and couldn’t seem to get his breathing under control, no matter how hard he tried. He had a plan, a very good plan. His very good plan would work, no matter what the little voice in the back of his head tried to tell him.

You see, today was the day that Thomas would propose to Richard. He had heard from an old lover, who was now one of Thomas' very good friends, that he had found a priest in a little village near Thirsk. But not just any priest, this priest was special.

This priest officiated illegal marriages, such as marriage between two women, and even men. When Thomas heard this news, immediately he thought of Richard. He rushed into town, without even thinking, and purchased a simple ring and a simple chain. Granted, it had set him back several months on his wages, but Thomas preferred not to think about it. He considered Richard to be worth it.

But that was before he remembered that he and Richard had only been seeing each other for 5 months, 8 if you counted the time where their only interaction was letters to the other. Their relationship had only become stronger when Richard quit his job and moved to York, to be 'closer to his parents'.

But Thomas couldn't shake the feeling that he was about to be embarrassingly rejected. What if Richard said no? Or what if he said yes but didn't mean it?

A knock on Thomas' door startled him out of his thoughts. It was Mrs Hughes, coming to remind him that dinner was soon.

"Are you alright, Mr. Barrow? You look a little ill."

Thomas hummed, "I'm fine, Mrs. Hughes. Really, I am. Just feeling a bit...nervous." He responded. He didn't want to tell the whole household about his plans for 2 reasons. Number one, he wasn't entirely sure they would accept it and even though most of the staff and household knew about Thomas (something he wasn't entirely comfortable with, he didn't think his employer and his daughters needed to know about who their butler likes to shag) perhaps they would think marriage a bit too far. Reason number two was a lot simpler, it was simply if Richard didn't say yes. Really, the last thing Thomas' wants is to be looked upon with more pity.

"Well, make sure you lie down after your duties are done." Mrs. Hughes advised before leaving the doorway.

Thomas sighed as he touched the ring in his pocket. He hadn't bought a box, something he regretted now. What if Richard wanted the ring to be in a box?

***

It was the perfect moment to ask Richard. They were sitting in Thomas' pantry, just chatting and drinking tea. It was so...domestic. It was perfect.

"And then my mother started going on and on about how she was so happy I'm closer to home, which then got my father to go on and on. Before I knew it they had been droning on for almost an hour, and that's why I was so late to our afternoon tea. Sorry about that, by the way." Richard said in between sips of his tea.

Thomas smiled, "It's fine, as long as you show up you could be 3 hours late and I'd keep the kettle hot."

Richard laughed. "Oh, I'm that special, am I?"

Thomas leaned closer, taking Richard's left hand in his. This was it, he was going to ask him.

"You're more than special to me, Richard Ellis. In fact, I wanted to ask y-"

"Mr. Barrow! There's an emergency in the-oh." Andy took a step back when he saw how close Mr. Barrow and Mr. Ellis were. "Am I interrupting something? I can come back, it's not actually that important."

Richard was the first to pull away, his warmth leaving Thomas' hands immediately where they had been grasped together. "No, it's fine, Andrew. I best be off anyway; it's getting rather late."

Andy left the room, trusting Mr Barrow would make his way to the kitchen in due time.

Thomas sighed once again, as his perfect moment faded out of the room. Richard turned to him.

"This was lovely, as always. I'll see you tomorrow, yes?" Richard said while putting his coat on. Thomas wished he could just take his coat off and stay until the small hours of the morning.

"Of course, love." He said, leaning in for a kiss. Richard met his lips halfway and lingered for perhaps a little too long. Between Thomas' busy schedule and Richard trying to find a job, they hadn't had much time to be...well, together. Each time they kissed it went on longer than the previous, and each time they hugged it was far less innocent that a hug should be.

Richard smiled his special smile that was only for Thomas.

"Oh! What did you want to ask me?"

"Oh, it's not important. Don't worry about it." Thomas replied, feeling a little downtrodden. Of course, he would never let Richard know this.

"Are you sure?" Richard asked.

Thomas nodded, kissing Richard's forehead. "It's nothing, truly. Goodnight, darling. I'll see you tomorrow."

Richard smiled, and with one last kiss, made his way to the back entrance of the servant's hall. He gave Thomas II a scratch on his head before walking out.

***

Richard lay on the bed panting, his bare chest rising and falling. Thomas flopped ungraciously next to him, smoothing back the hairs that had come loose in their...activities.

Richard laughed at his lovers attempt to tame his wild hair. He watched as Thomas eventually gave up and let his hand fall next to Richard's. The other man grasped the ungloved hand in his and brought it up to his lips.

Thomas laughed at the man, "I think you're turning soft, Mr. Ellis."

"Would that be such a bad thing, Mr. Barrow?" Richard joked, turning over so he could straddle Thomas’ waist.

He frowned, noticing a scratch on Thomas’ cheekbone. “Hey, what’s this from?”

Thomas looked away from Richard’s eyes, “Oh, it’s nothing. Just a scratch.”

“Thomas.” He could tell from Thomas’ tone of voice that his lover was lying.

“It’s embarrassing. Like…really embarrassing.”

“Just tell me, love. I won’t laugh, I promise.” Richard reasoned. Thomas looked him in the eyes once again, taking a deep breath.

“It was Thomas.”

Richard looked at Thomas confusingly. Thomas rolled his eyes.

“I tried to feed the bloody cat and it scratched me.”

It was silent for a moment, then the sound of Richard’s muffled laughter could be heard. His head hit Thomas’ shoulder when his laughter took over.

“Oi! You said you wouldn’t laugh!” Thomas playfully whacked Richard’s shoulder as the mans laughing became louder. Richard tried to apologise for laughing but every time he attempted to speak, he broke out in even more laughter. Thomas looked away frowning, trying not to let it be known that he was secretly enjoying the sound of Richard’s laughter.

He finally calmed down after a long while of laughing. “Oh, I’m sorry for laughing, love. But you must admit, it’s a little funny.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Just a little bit.” He said kissing his nose.

“Not funny.”

“A tiny bit.” He kissed his cheeks next.

“Not one bit.”

“A teensy, tiny bit funny.” Thomas’ forehead was kissed next.

“Nope.”

“A minuscule amount of funny, then.” He kissed Thomas on the lips, sliding his hand up to cradle the dark-haired man’s neck.

“Hmm, maybe a little.” Thomas laughed when they broke away from the kiss. He couldn’t stop smiling, neither could Richard.

"Richard..."

Richard hummed, "Yes, love?"

"Will...will you-"

"Shite! I have to be at work in an hour!"

"What?"

Richard groaned, "oh, Thomas. I'm so sorry but I told Mr. Carter that I’d help him work late tonight!" He got up and hurriedly shoved his belongings into his case. He quickly dressed, grabbed his coat and hat, gave Thomas a kiss, and was out the door before Thomas could say goodbye.

Thomas sighed in the room alone, the chill that had previously been kept back from their combined body heat now seeping into the room. He didn't let himself feel upset, for he knew Richard would be feeling guilty about leaving him. Besides, it wasn't like he always did this, usually, they had enough time to pack together and leave together. It was just that they had lost track of time. Thomas thought about all of this while getting dressed. He couldn't bring himself to be mad at Richard, as he was only a train ride away in York. He liked Richard being in York much more than London, anyway.

As Thomas grabbed his coat, he realised it wasn't his at all.

It was Richard's.

Silly man, Thomas thought. Obviously, in his haste, Richard had accidentally grabbed Thomas' coat instead of his own. Thomas didn't mind too much, they were the same size anyway.

It was only when Thomas was checking out of the hotel that his heart stopped.

The ring was in his coat pocket, but not the coat he was wearing.

Richard had the ring.

***

The next time they met up, it was dark, and Thomas was overcome with nerves. There was no doubt in his mind that Richard had found the ring and knew what Thomas was planning. He was heartbroken, his master plans were ruined and now the chances of Richard saying yes were most definitely zero.

Nevertheless, Richard greeted him with the same smile he always did. They were outside the servant's hall, agreeing that Richard would walk up from the station, stay two nights as he had gotten a small sort of holiday off work, then go home to York.

They went inside, greeting those who passed them. Thomas led Richard to his bedroom where he could unpack his case, as they had both decided that since everyone in the house practically knew about them there was really no point in trying keep the pretence up by having them sleep in separate rooms. He noticed that Richard was wearing his coat.

“You took my coat,” Thomas said. Richard turned at the sound of his voice. He smiled, “Yes, I did. You’d think a tailor would know better.”

Thomas chuckled nervously; he could already feel himself sweating. “Did you…uh, check the pockets?”

Richard looked confused for a moment, wondering why Thomas would care about the pockets. Then he remembered the ring he had found. “Oh! Yes, I did! I found that ring in the pocket, you must have been worried sick to lose it.”

Richard reached into the coat pocket and pulled it out, handing it to Thomas.

“You could say that again…” Thomas murmured to himself, putting the ring in the same pocket the chain was in.

“Was it your father’s?” Richard asked. Thomas looked up after shaking himself out of his thoughts.

“What?”

“The ring, was it your father’s? Only it’s clearly not a ring for a woman and you seemed so nervous before I gave it back to you.” Richard explained as he put his shirts in the closet with Thomas’.

“Oh uh, yeah. It’s my…father’s.” Richard didn’t yet know of Thomas’ strained relationship with his father, as he had not yet sought out to ruin any of their precious moments together. He didn’t want to dampen the mood or make Richard pity him. Richard was one of the few people in his life that had never shown him pity, and he’d like to keep it that way.

“It’s quite a nice ring. Must have cost a fortune.” Richard said.

Thomas raised his eyebrows, “Yeah, must have.”

Richard turned around to face Thomas once his clothes had been packed away. A devilish smirk graced his face as he stepped closer towards Thomas. The other man groaned once he knew what Richard wanted.

“We don’t have enough time, darling. Dinner starts in half an hour.” He said. Richard pouted.

“What about after dinner, then?” Richard reasoned with a hopeful look on his face. Thomas just laughed at his lover.

“We’ll have plenty of time after dinner.” Thomas smiled.

“Promise?”

“I promise, darling,” Thomas said as he smiled and leaned in for a kiss. Richard placed his hand upon the nape of his neck.

They broke apart smiling at each other, giggling in between smaller kisses. Thomas was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling that this was it, this was the moment and his doubts about Richard saying no were nowhere to be seen at that point in time.

“You are so beautiful.” He breathed.

Richard smiled at Thomas’ romantic words, his breath ghosting over Thomas’ lips.

“If I’m beautiful then what are you?”

“Incredibly lucky,” Thomas responded. He reached into his pocket, ready to take out the ring. He could feel the cold metal against his fingertips, he knee started to bend towards the wooden floor. He looked Richard in the eyes.

“I heard Mr. Ellis had arrived!” Baxter suddenly appeared in the doorway, one of Her Ladyship’s dresses in her arms.

Richard smiled at the sight of Miss Baxter, as she had become a trusted friend of him and Thomas. “Phyllis! So good to see you!” He said, breaking away from Thomas’ grasp in order to give Phyllis a hug.

“You too, Richard! Sorry to cut this short but I’ve got to get her Ladyship’s dress mended before tomorrow. I just wanted to say hello.” She smiled so happily that Thomas couldn’t bring himself to be angry at her poor timing.

“Oh, of course, I’ll see you later Phyllis.” He gave her one last hug before she was off toward the servant’s hall downstairs. Richard turned around to face Thomas and stepped into his arms.

“Where were we?”

Right, he was about to ask Richard. To marry him. Illegally.

Maybe this wasn’t such a great decision.

Thomas stuttered over his words before he was able to form a coherent sentence.

“I’m suddenly very nervous.” He laughed, his nerves showing in his voice.

“Why are you nervous? What’s going on?” Richard was suddenly concerned for his partner. He had been acting odd the past few times they met up.

“Um, I just…Well, you see…” Thomas paused as he took a moment to think about the situation. First off, the moment had been perfect, but then Miss Baxter had sort of ruined it. But it was just Miss Baxter, she wasn’t that big of a mood killer, right? He could salvage this situation with a few words about Richard’s pretty eyes, that should work, shouldn’t it? A little romance would do the trick, yes?

“Your eyes.” He blurted out. Thomas’ eyes went wide as he realised how unromantic that was.

“My…eyes?”

“Yes. They are very…pretty. And I love looking at them, I could get lost in their beauty,” _Nice Thomas, good save_ , “And when we make love, my favourite thing to do is to look into them and see my love reflected in those gorgeous eyes. They’re my favourite sight to wake up to in the morning and my favourite thing to see before I close my eyes at night.”

Richard blushed and looked down with a shy smile on his lips. Thomas had made his heart leap out of his chest with his romance. “Why are you saying all this?”

“Because, I wanted to ask you- “

“Dinner’s in 15 minutes, Mr. Barrow!” Molesly shouted as he walked past the open door. Thomas and Richard parted quickly at the sudden intrusion.

“Oh my, time flies. You better go, Thomas.” Richard said as he straightened himself up. (Which we all know is impossible, given the fact that he’s hot for Downton’s butler.)

“But I was going to-“He began before Richard cut him off.

“Love, you’ll get in serious trouble if dinner’s late. The family have those important guests from the hospital, remember? It wouldn’t do good to serve cold food.” Richard reasoned. He smiled apologetically at Thomas, brushing his hair back.

Thomas sighed.

“Bloody Molesly.”

After what seemed like years, dinner was finally finished. The family moved into the drawing room as they said goodbye to their guests. The doctors from the hospital had elected to miss out of after dinner drinks, reasoning that they had to be up very early tomorrow morning.

“Barrow, you can go downstairs I don’t think we need to keep you any longer. You can send a footman or maid up to collect the tray and glasses when we’re done.” Lord Grantham said, nodding to Thomas.

“Yes, Milord. Goodnight.” Thomas said before leaving the drawing room and making his way to the servant’s hall. He had thought of the perfect plan while dinner was being served.

Richard loved the devil spawn that liked to walk around downstairs and ‘accidentally’ trip Thomas, and only Thomas, over. It was the cat that Daisy name Thomas the Second, claiming that the mischievous black cat reminded her of the butler. It certainly didn’t help that Thomas II had a bowtie shaped mark on his chest and liked to chew on Bates’ cane too.

But for some reason, the cat loved Richard and vice versa. It was for this reason that Thomas decided he would get Thomas II to help with his proposal to Richard.

“Bloody ow!” Thomas retracted his hand after he was scratched _again_ by Thomas The Second.

The cat hissed at Thomas, angry that there was an unknown item attached to his collar. Thomas smiled to himself, even though the cat and he were sworn enemies he had still managed to get the ring on his collar. Now, it was time to send Thomas II to Richard.

Thomas grabbed Thomas The Second, ignoring the whining the cat gave off at being touched by him. He peeked around the door to the servant’s hall, Richard was alone. Perfect.

“Okay, I know you hate me. The feeling is mutual, trust me-ow! Don’t bite me, you bloody feral. Now, go over to Richard, and I promise I’ll sneak you some leftover fish from Mrs. Patmore.” Thomas was literally going insane. _Sorry, Richard,_ he thought _. Looks like your maybe future husband belongs in an asylum._

Thomas let the cat go, giving him a shove in the right direction. It earned him a hiss and a swipe of a sharp claw. Thomas rolled his eyes and flipped the cat off.

Richard looked up at the sound of a meow, a smile coming onto his face when he saw Thomas II.

“Well, hello there. Come here, sweetheart.”

Thomas frowned; Richard never talked to him like _that._ As if sensing Thomas’ annoyance, the cat turned back and cocked his head as if to say _,’ Hah, bitch.’_

“What’s that on your neck?” Richard reached for Thomas II collar. Unfortunately, he rather caught the hell-spawn by surprise, and Thomas II leapt into the air. He crashed down onto Richard’s teacup and sewing set, causing Richard to panic about the needles.

The ruckus caused quite a lot of noise, attracting quite a lot of people. Miss Baxter and Mrs. Hughes came out of the latter’s sitting room, Mrs. Patmore and Daisy came out from the kitchen and the Bates’ walked out from the boot room.

“My my, what’s all this noise? Mr. Barrow, why are you on the floor?” Mrs. Hughes said.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit shit shit shit.” Thomas said. It was definitely not going to plan. Everyone was here, intruding on his and Richard’s perfect moment. He got up off the ground, vaguely registering Daisy gasp at his language.

The other servants lingered at the doorways, watching Thomas walk to Richard. Thomas The Second had finally calmed down and was sitting on the table.

“Thomas, he’s got your father’s ring,” Richard said, clearly concerned for the bloody ring.

Baxter made a confused noise when she saw the ring around the cat’s neck. Everyone looked at her except Thomas.

“What’s wrong Miss Baxter?” Daisy innocently asked.

Phyllis hesitated before speaking, “Oh, nothing much really. It’s just Mr. Barrow’s father had a silver ring, not a gold one.”

Richard turned to Thomas at the new information, “So, the ring isn’t your father’s? Then why would you say it was?”

Thomas sighed, admitting defeat. After so many lost moments, he had arrived here in this situation. Instantly he regretted trying to ask Richard at Downton, it wasn’t private enough. Now everyone would know, and if Richard said no they’d never let Thomas live it down. Thomas looked at his shoes, noticing a scuff on the left side. Richard stood a good metre or two away from him.

“…It’s for you.”

The hall was silent, the only sound was that of the stupid cat licking its paws. Miss Baxter gasped when Thomas’ words sunk into her.

“What do you mean?” Richard asked.

Thomas took a breath before answering, wary of their audience. He stepped further toward Richard, deciding that enough was enough. He was just going to say it. “There’s a priest, in a little village up North,” Another deep breath, “And for the right price…he will marry any two individuals together.”

Richard was silent for a moment, then he gasped softly. He looked Thomas in the eyes, “Thomas…Are you…”

Thomas cut him off, “So I wanted to ask you,” He grabbed Richard’s right hand and made to kneel on the cold concrete. ‘

“Wrong hand.” Baxter piped up from behind. Thomas turned to look at her, his knee on the floor now.

“What?”

“You’re supposed to grab his left hand, Thomas,” Anna said, smiling politely at Thomas.

“Oh!” He switched hands, “Thank you.”

The ladies laughed quietly amongst themselves, not wanting to disturb the moment. Bates even had a small smile on his face.

“As I was saying, I wanted to ask you…if you’d,” _C’mon Thomas, now isn’t the time to get nervous_ , “If you would…no wait, If you will…no not that...will you-“

“Yes!” Richard blurted, immediately covering his mouth with his hand.

“You couldn’t have let me finish?”

“…sorry?”

Thomas just smiled at Richard’s silliness. He held Richard’s hand tighter.

“Go on, ask me properly.” Richard pleaded as his cheeks began to hurt from smiling.

“No, you’ve ruined it now.” Thomas joked.

“Oh please, Thomas! I’m sorry I was just so excited, please ask properly! I won’t interrupt this time.” Richard said.

“Promise?” Thomas asked.

“I promise.”

They smiled at each other for a moment.

“Will you marry me, Richard Ellis?” It was barely audible as Thomas was so in awe of Richard when he said the words, but Richard was close enough to hear it. He giggled.

“What do you think?”

Cheers erupted from behind them as Thomas lurched up to wrap his arms around Richard’s waist. He buried his head in Richard’s neck, inhaling the scent of his soon-to-be husband.

“Put the ring on his finger!” Daisy shouted from behind.

Richard looked at the cat, who was still sitting on the table. Thomas froze as he stared at the cat and the cat stared back.

He slowly broke away from Richard, inching towards the cat.

“Alright, ya little bastard. You’ve had your fun, now just give me the ring…”

“Thomas! Don’t be mean!” Richard scolded.

“He’s a spawn of the devil, Richard. And you know it.” He inched closer to the cat, who had a smug look on his face.

“No! He’s a perfect little angel!”

“Bastard cat.”

“Lovely sweetheart.”

“Devil incarnate.”

“Sweet little boy!”

“Useless. He doesn’t even pay rent.”

It was at this moment Thomas The Second swiped a claw at Thomas The Butler, deciding that the man had come too close in an attempt to get the ring.

“Ow! Bloody bugger!”

“You’ve offended him!” Richard said. He walked over to the cat, ignoring Thomas’ cries. Unfortunately, it seemed Thomas The Second had figured out that Richard was not loyal to him anymore, instead favouring the ugly black-haired vampire man.

The cat jumped out of the way just as Richard went to grab him. This caused Richard to step back suddenly, and crash into Thomas who was standing behind him. They both went crashing to the floor.

“I hate that bloody cat.”

“Don’t be mean…”

“Jesus help me.”

Thomas and Richard stood up, dusting themselves off. They looked around, neither of them seeing the cat anywhere.

“Oh no! Thomas The Second’s gone up the stairs!” Daisy cried.

Thomas and Richard looked at each other.

“Shite.”

“Language gentlemen!”

***

Thomas and Richard raced up the stairs, spotting the cat every now and then. They reached the landing where the door went out into the main hall.

“Where’s he gone?” Thomas panted. Richard opened the door just a crack to peer out of it. His eyes widened.

“He’s gone into the drawing room.”

“What!?”

“Shhh, now don’t panic but Thomas has gone into the drawing room. With Lord Grantham. And Lady Grantham. And Lady Mary. And also Mr. Branson. And it sounds like Mr. Talbot but I’m not entirely certain- “

“Richard! The cat’s got the bloody ring!”

“Right. No problem. We’ll just walk in and say the sweet little thing escaped and that we’re here to take him back downstairs.” Richard said, opening the door so he and Thomas could get through.

“Sweet little thing,” Thomas muttered, “As if it’s not just completely derailed my fantastically romantic proposal plans.”

Richard smiled at Thomas’ antics. He still couldn’t quite believe that this man had asked him to get married.

Thomas knocked politely on the door, opening it after a few beats. What he saw made him almost stop breathing.

Lord Grantham was sitting at his desk, nursing a glass and holding in his other hand…the ring.

 _On shit, oh shit shit shit,_ Thomas’ thoughts raced around his head. The family looked up at his entrance.

“Yes, Barrow? What is it?” Lady Mary asked. She reached out to give Thomas The Second a scratch under his chin.

“Uhh…cat.”

“I think what Thom-MR. Barrow means to say is, the cat has escaped from downstairs. Terribly sorry for the intrusion but we’ll take him back no if you don’t mind.” Richard butted in, saving both of them.

Thomas simply nodded. Lord Grantham smiled at the cat.

Downstairs, everyone who had witnessed the proposal took a minute to look at each other. Then, all at once, they decided to sprint up the stairs and gather round the door to the drawing room. It wasn’t eavesdropping, simply…okay, it was eavesdropping.

Back in the drawing room, things weren’t looking so great.

“Oh, I found this around his neck. A strange thing for a cat to have.” Lord Grantham held the ring up, the light from the chandelier glinting off its smooth surface.

“That’s mine.” Both Richard and Thomas said at the same time. They looked at each other comically.

“Whoever’s it is, it looks pricey.” Branson piped up from where he was sitting with Mr. Talbot.

“Yes, I do wonder how much it did cost.” Richard said, turning his head to Thomas’.

Thomas raised his eyebrows, “The price doesn’t matter, Richard. It’s the thought that counts.”

“How much was the ring, Thomas?” Richard asked turning his whole body to Thomas’. The whole family was staring at them at this point.

Thomas mumbled a few words and the family all frowned in confusion as they struggled to hear what he said. They didn’t have to be confused for any longer though.

“Eight months wages!? Thomas!”

Thomas winced at Richard’s yelling, “It’s not as bad as it sounds!”

“Not as bad as it-Thomas! Why would you buy the ring in the first place if it cost that much?” It seemed Richard didn’t care they were in the company of Lords and Ladies.

Well, if Richard didn’t care, then neither did Thomas.

“Because it was for you.” He said softly. The family around them gasped, all except for Tom.

“Oh…” Richard said, “That’s a stupid reason.”

“It’s not to me,” Thomas replied.

Lord Grantham stood up and walked over to the men. He handed the ring to Thomas. “I believe this is yours.”

“Technically it’s mine. I mean it’s going on _my_ finger.” Richard said quietly, bringing a chuckle from Lord Grantham.

Thomas turned to Richard and took his left hand in his. He went to slip the ring on Richard’s finger, but he paused.

“Which finger does it go on?” He asked, not at all sounding like the prim and proper servant the Grantham’s had come to know.

“The one next to his pinky on his left hand!” A shout came from behind the door.

“Thank you, Phyllis!” Thomas shouted back.

He slipped the ring on Richard’s ring finger; it was a perfect fit. Branson opened the door to the room and all the servants outside came tumbling in.

“I hate to be a downer, but Mr. Ellis can hardly wear the ring. People will ask questions, won’t they?” Lady Mary said. Richard’s smile fell off his face immediately.

“That is why I also purchased a matching gold chain. So, you can wear it around your neck.” Thomas said, pulling the said chain out of his pocket.

Richard smiled, “you think of everything, don’t you?”

Thomas hummed and smiled as he took the ring back and put it on the chain. He then clasped it around Richard’s neck. He smiled brighter than ever before, as did Richard.

Suddenly, Richard’s smile fell away. Thomas felt a brief moment of panic.

“How much did the chain cost?”

Thomas almost laughed at the question.

“Honestly? Two months wages.”

“Thomas! You spent ten months wages on me?” Richard was shocked at the amount of money this man had spent on him.

“I’d spend a whole lifetime's worth of wages if it meant you came with me to that little village up north and said, ‘I do’,” Thomas said, smirking at Richard’s blush.

Richard laughed and dove in to kiss Thomas; wrapping his hands around Thomas’ neck. Their tears of happiness mixed together.

Neither man could bring themselves to care when the room erupted in cheers.


End file.
